The new employment statistics are out and, not surprisingly, they weigh in favor of those with college degrees especially in this economy:

· 4 year college grads, on average earned 54% more than those without a college degree.

· Unemployment rose 10% for those over 25 who haven’t gone past high school.

· For those who haven’t earned a high school diploma, unemployment was 15.5% compared with 8.4% last year.

In the global world where knowledge, skills, adaptability, flexibility and critical thinking are the keys to success, staying in jobs where workers repeatedly have the same experiences day in and day out may not be a formula for personal or financial growth. Of course, this is all boils down to very personal questions: What type of life do you want to lead? What kinds of choices do you want to have? How would education help you get there? What are the costs without that knowledge to other things you may want to do, contribute or have in your life?

ARTICLE:

By David Leonhardt
For anyone who’s wondering whether a college degree is still worth it, The Wall Street Journal had a nice summary of the statistics this weekend:

The recession has led to steep job losses across the U.S. work force, but less-educated people have been hit particularly hard.